The only way to organise your fridge

A well-organised fridge is vital for food safety and will also help you minimise food wastage. But where do you start? Luckily,the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team has produced a guide to help you get the most out of your refrigerator and to keep your food fresher for longer.

What's the best temperature?

Set your fridge to a temperature between 1°C and 4°C so your food is maintained at 5°C or lower. And never put hot food into the fridge, as it will cause the overall temperature to rise and can lead to food poisioning and unnecessary food spoilage.

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How should foods be stored?

Once opened, jars of condiments, jams and jellies should be kept in the fridge. Cooked foods should be suitably covered while raw meat and fish should be well covered and sealed.

The upper shelves

The lower and middle shelves?

The bottom shelf

This is the coldest part of your fridge, and where wrapped raw meat and fish should be kept. Placing raw food on the bottom shelf also minimises the risk of cross-contamination.

Drawers

Vegetables, salads and fruit should be stored in their original packaging in the salad drawer where they will be enclosed. This is also a good place to store herbs, as they can't get frozen to the back of the fridge.

Door shelves

This is the warmest area of the fridge and most susceptible to temperature fluctuations. Store foods that have natural preservatives here, such as condiments, jams and juice.

Other top fridge storage tips:

1. As much as possible, keep raw and cooked foods separate from each other – place cooked and ready-to-eat items on the top shelf, always higher than the raw food, to avoid the chance of the latter dripping or falling on to cooked food and contaminating it.

2. Clean your fridge regularly, getting into awkward corners with an old toothbrush.

3. Thaw your fridge regularly to avoid a build up of ice.

4. Be careful to keep fresh foods, such as salads and herbs, away from the back of the fridge and do not let them touch it – the temperature at the very back is colder and these delicate foods could freeze and go off.

5. Butter and soft cheeses don't need to be in the coldest part of the fridge – so while we recommend dairy on the middle shelf, the door shelves for softer dairy is okay.

6. Eggs are at their best when the temperature is most consistent – so keep them on the middle shelf.

7. Keep certain fruit and veg items out of the fridge, as 'gas releasers' such as avocados, bananas, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums and tomatoes can make some veggies spoil prematurely.

The materials in this web site are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor. The web site does not have answers to all problems. Answers to specific problems may not apply to everyone. If you notice medical symptoms or feel ill, you should consult your doctor - for further information see our Terms and conditions.